Little
House on the Prairie: The Pilot introduced viewers to the
Ingalls family, a pioneer family headed out west to find a home and a
secure life. In what would eventually become a ten-year run, Season 1
picks up with the story as the Ingalls settle in the small town of
Walnut Grove, where Pa (Michael Landon) intends to make a living as a
farmer, while Ma (Karen Grassle) takes care of the family: feisty
Laura (Melissa Gilbert), her well-behaved older sister Mary (Melissa
Sue Anderson), and her little sister Carrie (Lindsay and Sidney
Greenbush).

Little House on the Prairie, loosely based on the beloved
series of children's books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, is a family show
in the best sense of the word: starting with likable characters and
an interesting setting, it tells entertaining stories that have
something in them to appeal to both adults and children. The stories
tend toward the sentimental end of the spectrum, and certainly there
are plenty of sappy moments, but on the whole, the series stands up
to the test of time better than you might expect it to.

Perhaps it's because the characters are drawn genuinely enough that
even when the sweetness becomes sugary, the show doesn't become
cloying. This is a show that ultimately takes a positive, cheerful
look at life, but its generally happy tone still allows for the
recognition that life (especially in an 1800s pioneer town) has its
low points, as in the thin line that Pa is forced to walk between
"making it" and losing everything in "Harvest of
Friends," the death of a child in "The Lord Is My
Shepherd," or even the fact that Laura has to put up with
obnoxious Nellie Oleson.

It's interesting to note that the episodes in Season 1 tend to focus
more strongly on Laura, and show things more often from Laura's
perspective, than later seasons. For instance, we continue to get
some voiceover comments from Laura as we did in the pilot episode,
but these are later discontinued; in later seasons, the other members
of the family also tend to take on larger roles, with Laura receding
somewhat into the background. I'd classify Laura as the most
interesting character in the family, so it's nice to see her featured
prominently here.

I've commented in my reviews of later seasons that attention to
historical detail isn't always a strong suit of Little House on
the Prairie. Season 1 demonstrates that the series actually
started out even weaker in that department, and shaped up a bit later
on. A few of the weak points are understandable in terms of practical
production issues: for instance, it's laughable that the Ingalls, who
are explicitly described as being dirt-poor in the opening episode,
would put wooden floors and glass windows in their house when they
don't even have money to buy a plow or seeds, but it's likely that
the producers wanted to have a consistent set built ASAP. Other
anachronisms are more amusing, such as seeing Pa eating a sandwich
that is obviously made of floppy 20th-century Wonder Bread. One does
have to wonder who had the bright idea of running "Survival"
(in which there's a blizzard) immediately following "Money
Crop," in which the farmers are doing their spring sowing. The
influence of Hollywood is evident in the very fake snow; did the
southern California climate make them forget which order the seasons
went in, too?

At any rate, Season 1 offers a set of charming stories, introducing
characters who would go on to become regulars, such as Dr. Baker, the
Reverend, and of course the Oleson family. Fans of Little House on
the Prairie will enjoy this set, and it's solid family viewing
even without the nostalgia factor.

The
DVD

Little House on the Prairie: Season 1 is a six-DVD set,
packaged in a cardboard fold-out holder inside a glossy paperboard
slipcase. All 23 episodes from the show's first season (1974-1975)
are included, but viewers should be aware that the pilot episode is
not included. It's available as a separate DVD.

Video

The image quality is below par here, for a variety of reasons. While
the print is free of noise, there are quite a few scratches appearing
throughout the image, and many instances of shimmering. The contrast
is too heavy, with detail lost in darker scenes. Colors look lousy
much of the time, with a brownish tint to the image in many scenes,
and a generally wan and lackluster appearance overall.

Audio

On the bright side, the soundtrack here is better than the dismal
track that appears on the stand-alone pilot episode. It's still below
average, and worse than in subsequent season sets. The sound is flat
overall, with a distinct tinny quality whenever the characters raise
their voices. A faint hiss is also audible in quieter scenes. The
music is also rather obtrusive here, partly because the volume tends
to be a shade too high in the music-only scenes, but largely because
the soundtrack is really terrible: it's 1970s-era in the worst
possible way, and whoever composed it didn't have a clue what the
show was like, as the musical cues sound like they came from a cheesy
suspense/thriller program.

Extras

DVD sets like this one make me realize that "chapter stops"
really are considered "bonus features" at some studios. At
any rate, they're not to be found here: each episode is a single
chapter. The introductory credit sequence appears in the first
episode but not in subsequent episodes. (Fortunately, in later season
sets the credits appear in all episodes, and chapter stops are
provided.)

There aren't many special features here. A booklet with episode
synopses is included inside the set, but there's no episode list
printed on the box as in later sets. A misleadingly titled section of
"character profiles" is really a set of filmographies for
selected actors in the show. We also get a 30-second photo gallery of
the Ingalls family, and an interactive quiz on the contents of the
first season. A word to the wise: if you linger over the first
question on the quiz, it crashes the DVD. I kid you not. However, if
you choose one of the answers ASAP, the rest of the quiz behaves
itself properly.

Final
thoughts

On the
basis of content, Little House on the Prairie: Season 1 merits
a "recommended" rating, as it's a pleasant family show that
has held up to the passing years better than most 1970s television
programs. I've downgraded it to a "rent it," though,
because the transfer quality is really not up to standard, and the
lack of basic DVD features like chapter stops makes for a
user-unfriendly experience. Dedicated Little House fans will
probably still want to pick it up, but unless it's a "must have"
set, I'd suggest renting this one and saving your purchases for later
season sets that have better transfers.